CAMP PENDLETON – A U.S. policy prohibiting the use of South Vietnamese symbols on federal property is threatening a commemoration expected to draw 5,000 guests for the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon.
The all-day event is scheduled for April 25 at the U.S. Marine base where 50,000 Vietnamese refugees temporarily lived after communist forces took over South Vietnam in 1975.
Plans for the opening ceremony called for playing the American and South Vietnamese national anthems and flying the American and South Vietnam flags – deeply rooted traditions in Little Saigon events.
The Department of Defense could not immediately elaborate on how the policy came about or why it exists. But the U.S has had normalized diplomatic and economic relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam since 1995.
Typically, playing the national anthem and flying the flag of unrecognized countries isn’t allowed on federal property, said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Pool, a spokesman for the department.
“I put the chance of holding the event at 5 percent,” said Kenneth Nguyen, spokesman for the event’s organizing committee. “We’re looking at options to hold the event somewhere in Little Saigon.”
Jason Johnston, the spokesman for Camp Pendleton, was sympathetic.
“We certainly understand the issue,” he said. “We want to help the (Vietnamese American) community recognize Camp Pendleton and their heritage. But we have to help them within the guidelines of the Department of Defense policy.”
Organizers, who have been planning the event for about a year, chose Camp Pendleton because of its historical significance as the first base on U.S. soil to house Vietnamese refugees after they fled their homeland.
Pendleton represents the refugees’ first step in becoming a successful American community.
At the base, plans called for the re-creation of one of the tent cities that the refugees lived in, photo exhibits of Vietnam during the war and of the Vietnamese refugees’ arrival at Pendleton, as well as music and food.
“It’s a chance to teach the young people where we came from,” Nguyen said. “It’s about our heritage and thanking the U.S. military as well.”
Nguyen and others said that flying the South Vietnamese flag and singing the national anthem symbolizes why Little Saigon is here, and reflects the opposition to communism and human-rights violations in Vietnam.
“The flag is a symbol of Vietnamese freedom and our Vietnamese heritage,” Nguyen said. “If we held the event without these symbols, we would be crucified.”
The conflict emerged two weeks ago in a private meeting as organizers and Camp Pendleton officials went over event details.
Event organizers hope an exemption can be worked out with the Pentagon. They expect to speak to representatives early next week.
“Wow! Wow! I’m really shocked,” said a stunned Tri Ta, mayor of Westminster, when told of the policy. “The yellow flag with the three red stripes is in any Vietnamese ceremony, especially this one. I don’t know what (the organizers) should do.”
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